Research

SAXS and its users

The experimental station of the Austrian SAXS beamline has been set-up in a very versatile and user-friendly way,. Besides the foreseen sample surrounding, users have the possibility to install their own specialised sample equipment. Simultaneously to SAXS, also WAXS can be monitored over a large angular range using a second detector. Thus this beamline attracts a large, heterogeneous group of researchers affiliated with national and international research centers and universities. Users who wish to submit a proposal for the first time are warmly invited to browse also our publication list, and Annual Reports in order to get a better idea about the experimental possibilities at our SAXS station, and to discuss their plans with the   beamline staff

Research fields

The list of promising technological fields which profit from the SAXS-station includes e.g. production of nanoparticles or drug / DNA delivery systems for pharmaceutical applications, improvement of food standards, design of custom-made materials for catalysis or separation technology, production and characterisation of quantum dots assemblies or carbon nanotubes for the semiconductor industry. Samples can be solids, liquids or even in the gas phase (e.g. evaporation induced self-assembly of mesoporous materials in a gas jet). Selected examples of SAXS and GISAXS applications can be found in our Highlights section , while a complete overview over ALL experiments conducted so far at this beamline can be found in our Annual Reports.

Browse our Publications

Read our Highlights

Research at the Austrian SAXS beamline

The SAXS group has a strong interest in selected topics in materials science, life sciences, physics and chemistry. The high photon flux available at the SAXS station allows not only for still pictures of molecules and their aggregates, but also for following molecular processes cinematographically, such as phase transitions or self-assembly in the millisecond and even in the submillisecond time-regime. Numerous ground-breaking key experiments in the nano- and bio-field have been conducted, often as collaborative research with groups affiliated to well-known Universities and Research Institutions, in Italy, Austria and worldwide.

Read our SAXS Annual Reports